American Indian Graduate Center unveils NextEra Energy Scholarship Program

- The Center for Native Scholarships to offer STEM funding focused on cultural sustainability

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Oct 25, 2021, 13:15 ET

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Oct. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) today announced American Indian Graduate Center has launched the NextEra Energy Scholarship Program, a culturally relevant and Indigenous-centered scholarship specifically built for Native students pursuing careers in the field of energy and across Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) as a whole.

The NextEra Energy Scholarship Program will provide 15 scholarships, each valued at $5,000 a year, for undergraduate and graduate students pursuing a degree in the fields of energy, environment and cultural sustainability and preservation. The NextEra Energy Foundation has committed to fund the scholarship program for the next three years.

"American Indian Graduate Center is excited to partner with NextEra Energy to create a new program to increase the number of scholars we impact each year," said Angelique Albert (Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes), American Indian Graduate Center Executive Director. "We are proud to offer programming that meets the needs of our students and directly impacts their academic journeys."

"In 2020, over 40% of our scholars were pursuing a degree in a STEM field. With a rise in applicants pursuing careers in this sector, it's critical to bolster our programs to empower them. NextEra Energy's support will allow us to continue our growth and impact even more Native students."

The NextEra Energy Scholarship Program will focus on education funding for Tribally identified priorities.

"Scholarships that have the ability to support Tribal Ecological Knowledge (TEK), languages, traditional food systems and more are critically needed at this time when our Tribal communities have identified climate change initiatives, protection of natural resources, food sovereignty and language immersion programs as essential," Albert said. "The NextEra Energy Scholarship program allows us to fund students academically in areas that not only support our Tribes' well-being, but also allow our TEK to inform the energy industry as a whole. It's an opportunity to have a transformative impact in the field."

"We're excited to launch this program as part of NextEra Energy's commitment to supporting the communities we serve and those that host our projects," said John Ketchum, president and CEO of NextEra Energy Resources. "We want to support the next generation of Native leaders, as well as honor the work of tribes that collaborate with us in our effort to decarbonize the electric energy industry while ensuring that we identify, avoid and protect sensitive tribal resources during development and construction of renewable projects across the country."

The scholarship is the latest addition to American Indian Graduate Center's portfolio of more than 30 scholarships and support services that are designed specifically to address the needs of Native students in post-secondary education.

To learn more about American Indian Graduate Center's scholarships and academic support programs, please visit www.AIGCS.org.

About American Indian Graduate Center
American Indian Graduate Center is a national private 501(c)(3) non-profit providing scholarships to American Indian and Alaska Native undergraduate, graduate and professional students throughout the United States. American Indian Graduate Center and American Indian Graduate Center Scholars have awarded more than $350 million in scholarships since inception and are proud to empower Native students from over 500 Tribes in all 50 states with educational funding and academic support services. For more information, please visit www.AIGCS.org.

NextEra Energy, Inc.
NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) is a leading clean energy company headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida. NextEra Energy owns Florida Power & Light Company, which is the largest vertically integrated rate-regulated electric utility in the United States as measured by retail electricity produced and sold, and serves more than 5.6 million customer accounts, supporting more than 11 million residents across Florida with clean, reliable and affordable electricity. NextEra Energy also owns a competitive clean energy business, NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which, together with its affiliated entities, is the world's largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun and a world leader in battery storage. Through its subsidiaries, NextEra Energy generates clean, emissions-free electricity from seven commercial nuclear power units in Florida, New Hampshire and Wisconsin. A Fortune 200 company, NextEra Energy has been recognized often by third parties for its efforts in sustainability, corporate responsibility, ethics and compliance, and diversity. NextEra Energy is ranked No. 1 in the electric and gas utilities industry on Fortune's 2021 list of "World's Most Admired Companies," recognized on Fortune's 2021 list of companies that "Change the World" and received the S&P Global Platts 2020 Energy Transition Award for leadership in environmental, social and governance. For more information about NextEra Energy companies, visit these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com, www.FPL.com, www.GulfPower.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.